Actually, construction costs are much higher here and there are more inspections to pass.

Actually the specs for building codes in the region (China, Taiwan and Japan) are much higher due to the earthquake zones, bi-annual typhoons and seasonal floods (and 50 year mega-floods). In short the buildings there have to be over- engineered, but yeah labour, materials and middlemen are much cheaper - though catching up. China only has a specific window to build so freely before wages start to stifle the plans, and 'value-engineering' starts to raise its darling profile. You're already seeing more plain looking boxes going up in Beijing and Shanghai for a while now. It's the other cities that still have a modicum of free rein.